Background: The prevalence of anxiety among college students is a growing global concern, with a median prevalence of 32%. This study addresses the need for effective interventions within an educational policy framework to alleviate anxiety and promote mental health among college students. Objective: The study aims to evaluate the impact of breathing relaxation exercises and tactile art therapy on college students’ self-understanding and psychological well-being, providing reference information for policies and practices in mental health education. Methods: We enrolled 10 college students from X University in South Korea, dividing them into an experimental group and a control group. The experimental group underwent 10 sessions of breathing exercises and tactile art therapy, while the control group received standard psychological counseling. Pre- and post-tests assessed breathing function, self-understanding, and psychological well-being. Results: The experimental group demonstrated significant improvements in breathing function, particularly in forced vital capacity (FVC), and in psychological well-being, as measured by the Psychological Well-Being Scale (PWBS). Sub-factors such as safety, goal orientation, and self-acceptance within self-understanding, self-acceptance, positive relationships, purpose in life, and environmental mastery within psychological well-being, showed notable enhancements. In contrast, the control group did not show significant effects in terms of FVC and FEV1（p > 0.05）, and there were no statistically significant differences in the various sub-factors of self-understanding and psychological well-being. Conclusion: The study demonstrates that integrating breathing relaxation exercises and tactile art therapy into educational policy can significantly reduce anxiety and enhance the psychological well-being of college students. These findings suggest that such interventions can be effective components of a comprehensive educational policy aimed at improving student mental health.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the prevalence of online education in primary education has exhibited an upward trajectory. Relative to traditional learning environments, online instruction has evolved into a pivotal pedagogical modality for contemporary students. Thus, to comprehensively comprehend the repercussions of environmental changes on students’ psychological well-being in the backdrop of prolonged online education, this study employs an innovative methodology. Founded upon three elemental feature sequences—images, acoustics, and text extracted from online learning data—the model ingeniously amalgamates these facets. The fusion methodology aims to synergistically harness information from diverse perceptual channels to capture the students’ psychological states more comprehensively and accurately. To discern emotional features, the model leverages support vector machines (SVM), exhibiting commendable proficiency in handling emotional information. Moreover, to enhance the efficacy of psychological well-being prediction, this study incorporates an attention mechanism into the traditional Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) architecture. By innovatively introducing this attention mechanism in CNN, the study observes a significant improvement in accuracy in identifying six psychological features, demonstrating the effectiveness of attention mechanisms in deep learning models. Finally, beyond model performance validation, this study delves into a profound analysis of the impact of environmental changes on students’ psychological well-being. This analysis furnishes valuable insights for formulating pertinent instructional strategies in the protracted context of online education, aiding educational institutions in better addressing the challenges posed to students’ psychological well-being in novel learning environments.

The COVID-19 pandemic has instigated global lockdowns, profoundly altering daily life and resulting in widespread closures, except for essential services like healthcare and grocery stores. This scenario has notably intensified mental health challenges, particularly among children and adolescents. Influenced by a myriad of factors including developmental stages, educational backgrounds, existing psychiatric disorders, and socioeconomic status, the pandemic’s impact extends beyond the immediate health crisis. This paper critically examines the multifaceted effects of the pandemic on mental and physical health across various age groups. It highlights the increased incidence of stress, anxiety, and depression, underscoring the pandemic’s deep psychological footprint. Additionally, the paper explores the societal implications, from altered family dynamics and educational disruptions due to the shift to online learning, to workplace transformations. These changes have led to a mix of adaptive responses and adverse effects, including heightened domestic tensions and mental health issues. The paper also delves into the ethical challenges faced by medical professionals during this crisis, balancing urgent patient care with ongoing medical research and mental health considerations. This analysis aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the COVID-19 pandemic’s extensive impact on health and society, emphasizing the importance of addressing mental health as a crucial component of the response strategy.